Kimber SIS Ultra Carry 1911 Review

A gun that I don't own, but would
like to, is the subject of this article: the Kimber SIS Ultra Carry
1911. This little 1911 with a three inch barrel is a gun I've been able to observe in
numerous people's hands over about a year and a half. The gun is owned
by my good friend, Marty, who uses it as his primary carry pistol.

Over
that year and a half, I've had numerous chances to shoot the little
Ultra Carry, and every time I consider going out and buying one.

But,
can't own em all. The next best thing is having friends with cool guns.
But I digress.

Unfortunately, I was too busy
shooting during this range session to get the usual number of pictures. I only came away with a couple of the Kimber SIS Ultra Carry
1911.

The first time the gun was ever brought to the range during one
of our Right On Target group shoots, the response to the 3" barreled
1911 was extremely enthusiastic. When one of the guys picked up the
diminutive .45 ACP and blew up a jug of ice at 75 yards, then bounced
some bowling pins around out past 50 yards, it was pretty clear that we
had a unique firearm among us.

In that initial range session, the gun
startled everybody who shot it not from excessive recoil or being hard
to control or hit the target. Just the opposite. The surprise was in the
fact that even our inexperienced shooters picked it up and began
drilling tight patterns in targets. They blasted small cans and bottles
out to about 25 yards on the ground.

You wouldn't be surprised at this
with a quality full size 1911. In a .45 with a 3" barrel, most
people are just expecting to hang on and hope to hit somewhere in the
general vicinity of the target.

>

In the most recent range session,
I made sure the gun got wrung out by numerous people with several
different kinds of ammo. That including the reloaded 200 grain hollow points,
and the Federal 230 grain round nose shown. We also shot it with other
ammo including Glazer Safety Slugs that people delighted in obliterating
big jugs full of colored water with.

Again, my apologies for losing the
video of some of the pretty spectacular stuff we did with this little
gun. On this particular trip I was just plain photography challenged. My
own target shooting with it consistently ended up with paper targets
with ragged seven hole clusters. That was in the same area target
after target out to about 40 feet.

This little Kimber SIS Ultra
Carry 1911 has also proven it's durability having been shot
consistently for over a year and a half. And as far as dependability, no
ammo has caused it to fail to do anything it's supposed to do.

The Origin of the SIS

The
original Kimber SIS was born as a design with intensive input by LAPD's
Special Investigative Section officers. This unit is renowned for
taking on the most violent of criminals in the most dangerous situations
imaginable, many times with S.W.A.T. backup, sometimes without.

This
alone birthed the gun in controversy. First, the ire of gun owners, gun
rights organizations and activists heavily criticized Kimber for
designing a gun for an agency in a gun prohibitive state. California was in the midst of
passing some of the most prohibitive gun regulations ever for civilians
including micro-stamping requirements for guns starting in 2010.

Nonetheless
the gun was developed and the SIS was armed with the gun that bore its
initials. Then more controversy ensued when Kimber announced it would
market the Kimber SIS 1911 to civilians.

"Civil rights" activists in
California were "appalled". As usual they were incensed by the notion of a gun developed for a
police agency could end up in the hands of a criminal who may shoot a
police officer with it. Of course that line of reasoning could only
originate in California, the beginning of all gun twink nonsense.

But in
spite of all that, Kimber did market the gun to civilians in several
configurations including the Kimber SIS Ultra Carry that is the subject
of this article. Typically the SIS was a gun that enthusiasts either
loved or hated. I've seen it described as cool, slick, well designed,
stupid and butt-ugly (on some gun forums you can find all of these
descriptions on one thread).

The end result of all of this
was the discontinuation of the gun in 2010. Kimber filled all existing
orders but ceased production for further marketing.

Aside from all
of that, I just know the one I'm familiar with would have to be put in
the category of great sub compact pistol. And just because the SIS model
is no longer available doesn't mean you can't get a Kimber Ultra Carry
in one of numerous other models. Same gun, different package.

BOTTOM LINE:
Over the last fewyears, Kimber has suffered significant
criticism over quality control issues, manufacturing shortcuts, etc. The
SIS brought endless controversy which the company eventually caved in
to. I can't really answer all the issues with Kimber or where they are
now in dealing with the recent public perception of the company.

But
what I do know is that this Kimber Ultra Carry is an excellent, durable,
accurate, and dependable handgun that a good friend of mine depends on
daily to protect himself and his family.